


What Comes After

by Ichirinsa



Series: A Professor's New Dawn, and assorted Support Conversations [5]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24592477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ichirinsa/pseuds/Ichirinsa
Summary: Makoto Niijima is already proficient in Aikido, training with an experienced teacher to better perform in the Metaverse. With little to teach her about battle, Byleth turns to lessons of life.
Series: A Professor's New Dawn, and assorted Support Conversations [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1765159
Kudos: 24





	1. Support Level C - Hand-to-Hand

“I have officially underestimated you, Niijima-san.” Byleth’s statement is breathy and labored. She wipes sweat from her brow, then slides down the Shujin gym wall into a sitting position in the corner. “There’s room for improvement, as always, but I’m impressed.” She reaches next to her priorly discarded gym bag and produces two ice cold bottles of water, then extends one in Makoto’s direction.

Makoto accepts the offer, and has already cracked the bottle open and drank half of its contents by the time she’s seated next to Byleth. “That makes two of us, Sensei.” She inclines her head to rest against the wall, making any attempt to slow her breaths. “You kept me on my toes, that’s for sure.”

The next items from Byleth’s bag are a few dry towels to rid themselves of sweat. “What specific martial art did you say you trained in?” She tosses the towel directly at Makoto’s face, eliciting a sheepish giggle.

She yanks the towel away and starts to rub it against her neck and arms. “Aikido. And what about you? That display implies some kind of formal technique.”

“Systema, mostly.”

“Hmmm, I think I’ve read about that. It’s Russian, right?”

Byleth rises from her seat and offers a helping hand to Makoto. “Yes. Aikido is one of the martial arts that inspired it, actually.” Makoto accepts, and she effortlessly pulls her up. “Well, probably. It’s unverified, but likely.”

“I see… that explains all the joint lock techniques you used.”

Byleth assumes a stance for demonstration. “Systema teaches that if you control someone's ‘levers,’ you can control their body entirely. Try it.”

“And ‘levers’ here refers to the elbows, knees, and neck?” Makoto mimics the stance, not too far from what she’s grown accustomed to in her own martial training. Then, she performs a gentle but thorough arm bar technique, completely in control of Byleth’s movements despite the size difference between them.

She points to her collarbone with her free hand, still as calm as can be. “As well as the shoulders and hips, to a lesser extent.”

“Fascinating. I’m curious, were there any mental aspects of training as well?” Makoto releases her, finally standing to her full height. 

“Not particularly. But I found that mindfulness meditation made a difference. Why do you ask?”

“Aikido applies a mental preparedness to meet your opponent’s energy and cooperate with it, so to speak. In doing so, you can use their momentum against them, or control it entirely.”

Byleth collects her possessions and starts to massage different muscles in her arms, hoping to avoid unnecessary aches in the coming days. “Interesting. Suffice to say: you won’t have much to learn under my tutelage, aside from a bracing spar here and there.”

Makoto actually smiles in response, genuinely excited at the prospect. “Good. That was always a complaint of mine when I was learning it. My sparring partners never attacked with intent to follow through. Granted, not harming your attacker violently is one of Aikido’s core philosophies, but…” Her eyes flit to the side as she considers her unusual circumstances.

“That won’t work well against shadows.”

Her eyes land back on Byleth, who is now rolling her joints to ensure they remain loose. “Precisely.”

“I don’t think any training could have prepared you for what you’re going through now. I’m glad that I can be around for all of you, otherwise there wouldn’t be anyone who _could_ train you for that.” By now, they’ve started unconsciously heading towards the gym’s exit, ready to wrap up for the day. The partly cloudy weather in the courtyard is a welcome comfort after a sweaty training session.

“You’ve got experience. That’s important in its own right.”

An unusual silence falls between them. Byleth has taken out her phone and is trying to open her schedule and figure out what the rest of her week is going to look like, leaving Makoto awkwardly grasping for conversational straws.

“Say, Sensei. Where did you learn Systema, anyway?”

Byleth is jolted back to reality. “Oh. My dad taught me when I was young. He learned it as part of military training and wanted to pass it on to me, for self-defense.” She doesn’t look up from her phone whatsoever. Whether to avoid eye contact or to really, _really_ get her shit together is unclear.

“Ah, so your father, too…” Makoto presses a pensive thumb underneath her chin. There’s something more to Byleth here that she’s not saying.

“Hm?” Now she’s finally looking up.

Makoto’s eyes are as piercing as ever, though that might just be the result of her crimson irises driving the point home. “My dad was in the police when I was younger. I wonder what he would think of me now if he were still around.”

She has to dig through her own thoughts to find a response. “I… think he’d be proud. You’re doing something good.” 

“I think so, too. What about your father, Sensei? I know you said you lost him…”

“There were a lot of people who expected I would be entirely over his death, since I had so much to deal with after waking up. For a while, that was true.” She leans against the walkway’s handrail, looking down to follow lines in the pavement. “I’d even avenged him before those five years. But after the last of my business was over… the compartmentalization started to leak. It felt like I’d lost a bit of purpose, of identity.”

“Sensei…” Makoto grips Byleth’s forearm to comfort her. She’s surprised to feel that she’s… pretty buff.

“It’s okay. I’m in therapy now, and I found new reasons to live. Before anything, I’m a teacher. I care for my students, and I want to see them grow into flourishing, mature adults. All of you are a part of humanity already, but you’ll be steering us later. I need to prepare you for that.” Then, she looks back at Makoto, eyes glimmering with compassion. “Speaking of. I need you to be prepared to look to the future after we’ve finished all of our business. Don’t get so focused on it that you lose who you are.” For the first time since this conversation started, Byleth smiles again. “Of the entire team, I think I don’t have to worry about you finding that.”

“I don’t know about that…” Makoto’s hand finds the back of her neck, and she winces at the accusation. “I’ve been so focused on my studies that I haven’t given much thought to what to do.”

“You don’t have to know yet. Know yourself, and the rest will follow.” Before Makoto gets the chance to respond, Byleth has dug her hands into her pockets and is walking away. In spite of the conversation’s tone near the end, her voice chimes with a joyous clarity. “Good lesson today, Niijima-san. Let me know when you’d like another.”

“O-okay. I’ll see you around, Sensei.”

Byleth doesn’t look back.

_Who knows how similar we might be, underneath it all?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Makoto was always a favorite of mine in P5, so I hope to do her justice.
> 
> The hardest part about these support conversations isn't coming up with ideas for them (though, for some characters, it is a bit more difficult) but the Decision Paralysis I have to work through to choose which ones to work on and post. I actually had to spend an hour this morning charting out a release order just so I don't have to go through that again like I did with these.
> 
> Anyway, martial arts, am I right?


	2. Support Level B - Head-to-Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto, ever the smartest in the Phantom Thieves, shares her curiosities on Byleth's past... then she sees right through Byleth's lies.

Byleth has Makoto in an armlock, tangled against the gym mat. She struggles for freedom for a moment, then gives in and taps out. The moment she’s done so, Byleth lifts her up, then passes her a bottle of water.

“Still improving, Makoto-san.”

“Still using -san, I see.” Makoto reorganizes her hair into an up-do -- or at least as much of one as she can manage with her length of hair. These sessions do plenty to mess it up.

Byleth can only bashfully grip her neck. “Would all of you rather I drop the honorifics when we’re not out in public? I still can’t decide, myself…”

“I take no issue in it. We’re all equals as Phantom Thieves.”

“Huh. I guess that wasn’t the thought I had. You’re not wrong.” The two of them interrupt their own conversation with deep, deep gulps of water. In the heat of the gym, as well as exertion and physical proximity, they’ve worked up a healthy sweat. “Okay, I’m convinced. Let me start over.” She clears her throat. “You’re still improving, Makoto.”

“Thank you, Byleth. The skill you have far outmatches any of my sparring opponents over the years.” Then, her eyes dart to the side as she taps her nose in thought. “Except for my sister, maybe. Just maybe.”

“Did she also practice Aikido?”

“As per dad’s wishes. She and I would spar all the time before she got her job as a prosecutor. I’ve never managed to beat her once, though.”

“Huh. I ought to take her on someday.”

“Good luck with that. She’s a bit obsessed with work nowadays.” She shakes her head gently, gaze cast downward. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll be able to sway her. A worthy opponent might be too much to pass up.”

“Reminds me of a student from another class back at Garreg Mach. That boy had some issues.” She giggles, wondering where life has taken him nowadays.

“I’m curious though, Byleth… I did some research into Systema as a martial art and found out that it’s primarily used by the Spetsnaz in Russia, along with other assorted militias. How did you come to learn it?”

_Shit. If anyone’s going to be able to figure it out, it’ll be her._

“My dad was in the Swiss military at the time. He taught it to me when he had the chance.” These half-truths have saved her before. Hopefully they work against Makoto.

“The Swiss military uses Systema? That’s not what I found in my digging.”

_Double Shit._

Byleth’s face hardly changes, despite feeling cornered. “He’d learned it on his own before joining. It was his preference, so that’s what he passed on to me.”

“Where’d he find the time for that?”

_God, you’re persistent._

“You can just tell me the truth, Byleth.”

“Are you sure you want to know it?” She can’t find the strength to look Makoto in the eyes.

Even despite the standoff, Makoto lays a gentle hand on the side of Byleth’s arm. “I just… I don’t want you to feel like you have to hide it.”

“...Fine. Before I taught at Garreg Mach, I was part of an extralegal paramilitary mercenary militia for a few years.”

“A few years? You started teaching just a month before you turned twenty... If you’d enlisted as soon as you turned eighteen, that would leave you with only about two years of experience.”

“I… I had help lying about my age to enlist early. I was… I was only sixteen.”

Makoto’s eyes widen with each sentence Byleth speaks. “Wow. No wonder you wanted to keep this a secret.”

“Yeah. My entire existence is practically a war crime. You, uh…” She finally looks up. She can hardly make eye contact for a second before giving up again. “You won’t tell anyone, right? I had to pull a lot of strings to have a seemingly normal record just to apply for this job.”

“How normal?” She crosses her arms and keeps one hand at her chin. Even with the tone, she doesn’t seem too judgmental about the whole ordeal.

“My Swiss citizenship is faked, as is my schooling and teaching history prior to my teaching at Garreg Mach. In truth, I only attended high school for a year and a half before dropping out to enlist.”

“How come they even offered you the job at Garreg Mach?”

“No idea. My dad used to work there about a year before I was born -- or at least, he told me I wasn’t born there. I guess they saw I was his kid and wanted me there.”

“Byleth, I’ll be honest… that is the shadiest, most illegal semblance of a history I have ever heard.”

“Yeah. I regret it. I wanted to join my father because I hated being alone all the time, I hated how boring school was, and I wanted to make money doing something exciting. In hindsight… it was hardly the right thing to do. I accepted the teaching job at Garreg Mach because my dad convinced me it would be better to turn a new leaf, make a genuine, honest living. I didn’t want to, initially. But I gave in, studied all the material I needed to teach until I knew it like the back of my hand, then got to work. It wasn’t until when I decided to leave Garreg Mach that I realized I would need to fake a regular upbringing to work anywhere else.”

“In other words, you did all of that to distance yourself from what you’d been doing before.”

“Yeah. The more I taught, the more I fell in love with it. It was the most fulfilling thing I’d ever done. Seeing students learn and grow as people was… I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. So I did what I had to do to put my prior life away permanently. Couldn’t do anything about records of the five-year coma, though. Even then, I figured it would be best to be honest about that.”

“I’m glad you did. As ridiculously illegal all of that is… you did it to help kids like us.” She smiles and laughs. Byleth suddenly feels like she’s standing in front of a saint.

“Again I ask: You won’t tell anyone, right?” Byleth’s furrowed, downward brow spells out concern. Not for herself, but for the students she wants to be able to teach.

Makoto gently shakes her head. “Not a soul. As far as I know, you were born in Switzerland, then got a job teaching, then moved here. This conversation never happened.”

“Thank you, Makoto. At the very least, you know my skill is the genuine article.”

“I could never have denied that. Mind one more bout before we head out?”

“Of course.”

They take position, bow and tap gloves, then get back to work.


	3. Support Level A - Heart-to-Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto has some explaining to do. Her and Byleth have a chat about their grief.

After another sparring session, Byleth decides to treat Makoto to a meal of her choosing, in recognition of the improvements and progress she’s made over the course of the past months, both in her training and her growth as a human being. Makoto only agreed to it on the terms that the food isn’t too overpriced. Byleth is willing to take that deal, and so they find themselves at the cafe on Central Street in Shibuya.

“You’re starting to give me a run for my money with this training, Makoto. I hope it’s helping you against Shadows, as different as they are to fight.”

“It’s helped plenty, Byleth. My technique has improved, but what’s been even better is my focus, my breathing, my posture. It’s all thanks to your teaching.”

“Don’t discredit your own efforts. You’d have gotten nowhere without willpower.”

“I guess I can’t deny that. But...” Makoto holds out a finger to halt the topic there, and her brow folds apologetically. She sighs, then continues. “I need to apologize, Byleth. For interrogating you so harshly on your history. I was curious, but it wasn’t my place to force you to share all of that.”

“I can’t say I blame you.” At that, Makoto looks genuinely surprised. “A teacher from overseas using a fighting technique completely different from what you’d expect, one associated with a completely different military altogether… it warrants some concern.”

“True, but… Where you come from, what your history is... it doesn’t matter when you’re trying to be better than what you have been.” Makoto’s eyes don’t falter. She maintains clarity with each word. “Besides. I might’ve done the same, were I in your position.”

“Really?”

“Yes. My mother died when my sister and I were young, and my father had been raising us ever since, up until he died three years ago. I found school boring, I despised the loneliness of his position, and I wanted more out of life. All the same feelings you had.”

Byleth’s giggle is more of a swift exhale from the nose. “I accept your apology, Makoto.” She smiles, a reflection of Makoto’s own smile from across the table, and then continues. “Three years ago… Where were you and your sister at that point?”

“Sis was almost done with college and law school already. Despite her grief, she went on to pass her Bar exam while still finishing her college courses. People saw it as a miracle at the time, but I still worry that she was just compartmentalizing. I believe she’s gotten therapy since then, at the very least.” Makoto’s eyes travel the room. They find one object of interest, examine it, then go to the next. “As for me, I was just about to be done with middle school, so you can imagine how I reacted.”

“That’s awful…” Byleth cranes her head upward, as though projecting her memories across the ceiling. “I’m guessing your childhood was similar, in a way. Always being pushed toward excellence, but hardly feeling like they were there to see it.”

“He would spend nights at the station frequently, yes. There was some awful part of me deep down that thought his death wouldn't even affect how often I saw him. But… I still missed him. It wasn’t as though he was absent by choice. And I knew what he was working so hard to protect people. It was just hard to accept it. I think I stayed on that stage of grief for a long time.”

“Personally, I ended up in the ‘depression’ phase for a while. Locked myself in my quarters for a week. Hardly even left to get lunch or dinner or anything. The other faculty was kind enough to understand, and my students even brought me food.”

“That’s kind of them. They must have cared about you quite a lot. I can’t say I was quite so lucky… It was just me and Sis.”

“How do you feel about it now?”

“Now… I want to make him proud. I want to help the weak who end up trampled by the strong, just the same as he wanted. And… I feel like I have the support for it now. With you and the others by my side, I feel like I’d be up to any task.”

“I think we’re a bit more similar than both of us realize, Makoto.”

“I think so too, Byleth. Dedicated, smart, tenacious… and with similar shared grief.”

“And humble, I see.”

“I would use the word ‘confident,’ personally.” The two laugh, a wholehearted, lung-emptying laugh.

When Byleth has finally finished, she observes how much they’ve disrupted the room. No matter. “What about when all of this has passed, Makoto? What comes after?”

“After everything with the others? Thanks to some help, I’ve decided that I want to be a police commissioner. With my grades and work ethic, I’ll be able to make it any college I’d like. It’ll be plenty of time and effort until I get there, but it’s where I have my sights set.” She looks around the room, then turns back to Byleth. “What about you, Byleth? What are you doing?”

“I’ll be doing what I  _ thought _ I’d be doing when I came to Japan: Teaching, expanding my social circle, discovering more about myself.”

“We did interrupt that, didn’t we?” Makoto’s expression waxes nostalgic.

“I’m glad you did. I never would have foreseen any of this, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Byleth holds up her glass of fruity tea. “To a bright future.”

“With everyone’s help, I know it won’t be any other way.”

Clink.


End file.
